The polling for the seats of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, an all-important part of the calendar of events in any election, will conclude on Saturday and the counting of votes scheduled three days later will lead to the decisive stage in the formation of the next government. Given the nature of the hotly contested elections and the prospects of a divided verdict, it can be anybody’s guess on which political party or parties will come together to constitute the government.
The question uppermost in the electorate is all about which party will form the government — the Congress or the BJP and what will be the role of the JD(S). If the people do not want a repeat of what happened in the State between 2004 and 2008, then they need to decisively vote in favour of one party, which is highly unlikely in the present scenario, since there is no wave in favour of any party. It is a typical situation wherein people overwhelmingly like or dislike a given party and added to this is the view that a large number of the candidates of all the political parties are more or less the same people who had contested in the past, and the voters are well aware of their contribution.
A contrast
In contrast to the previous elections when political parties and leaders said one thing during the run-up to the elections and did not care much for the welfare of the people after being elected, one aspect which is now evident is that politicians have to necessarily change their work culture and mindset, failing which it will be a difficult task for them to represent the people. This aspect has already dawned on many candidates and political parties and the social media is turning out to be a major watchdog on their performance.
It is the first time in the history of the State that a large number of national leaders of several political parties, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and president of the All India Congress Committee Rahul Gandhi, have extensively campaigned in the State for several months. Barring the pre-poll alliance between the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress did not favour an alliance with the belief that they can independently form the government.
The BJP is keen to edge out the Congress and regain power, more so, since it will help the party in not merely gaining a foothold in south India but also set a favourable pace for the general elections due in 2019, and for the JD(S), it is a matter of survival. The JD(S) has to get back to the seat of power to charge up its batteries, although it did win a fairly big chunk of 40 seats in the last elections and was on a par with the performance of the BJP, which in 2013 was a divided party. Whether the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will have a role to play in government formation and what could be their stance will be closely watched.
The Karnataka elections have hogged national limelight for a large part of the last few weeks for a variety of reasons. The Congress is keen to retain power in Karnataka, which is one of the last bastions of the party. It has remained the frontrunner through the election campaign and has held on to the pole position despite the many challenges posed by rival parties. Given the nature of the stepped-up campaign by the political parties and their leaders, it will only be natural for a perceptible increase in the number of voters turning up at polling stations to cast their vote.
(The writer is Resident Representative, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, Bengaluru)
